It may seem to the outside eye that all teachers are looking for is better pay, but actually this is far from the truth. Teachers are in the profession for a reason and it certainly isn’t for the pay packet! Most teachers are in the profession because they want to be there – they want to help students learn and to put their experience to good use. A survey of 1,000 educators by the National Education Association revealed that most teachers are looking for trust in their experience and to be able to assess students individually. With more teachers leaving the profession than there is joining for a second year running, it is time for schools to think about how to improve their talent acquisition. This does not simply come down to paying better salaries and offering more benefits, there are all kinds of methods schools can use to encourage new teachers to join.

1. Value your employees

First and foremost, you want candidates to know that you care about your teachers and that you will help them to learn and develop. You can do this in many ways, such as arranging for CPD for your teachers, getting guest speakers in to talk about the profession and engage with your teachers, sending teachers to conferences which can be hugely beneficial for their progression. If you talk about this during the interview process, it will show that you are not just looking to fill vacancies – you actually care about your teachers, value them and want them to develop.

2. Be creative with recruitment

There is such a lack of engagement that the government are looking overseas to find teachers – at the cost of £10 million. It is clear there is a lot of work to be done and more creative thinking during the recruitment process. Schools need to do a lot more in terms of branding, such as using social media platforms to increase engagement. This may include videos with footage from ‘a day in the life’ of a teacher, video testimonials and generally giving candidates a feel for what it’s like to work in the school. The hotel chain Marriott are a good example of how to use social media to attract candidates. They have a function for career chats, post regular content and promote the benefits of working for the company. They have more likes on their career page than Facebook, so they must be getting it right. There is no reason why schools can’t use this same approach to encourage teachers to join. You may even want to incorporate game based assessments, so candidates could play the role of a teacher, gaining increased insight into what they can expect from working there.

3. Improve communication

One of the main complaints teachers have is that they don’t get the opportunity to collaborate with other teachers. If you want to improve acquisition, make this a focal point and promote it during the recruitment process. There are many different ways to promote collaboration, including arranging regular meetings for teachers to chat together and learn from each other, allow teachers to take some classes together and collaborate on lesson plans. If you promote this on your social media and during the application process, you are more likely to encourage applications and improve your acquisition.